Blearning Blog: d’Orky for d’Orsay

Monday it is! Learn we will.

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Blearning Blogs, for those of you joining us, are where I pick a topic the fashion world assumes everybody knows about, but actually doesn’t, and I write about it for you to read. I like it because we all become savvier without buying a damn thing. Street cred for all! 

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Oh, I should also mention that Blearning Blogs go in alphabetical order. If you want to catch A, B, or C, you can check them out here!

Letter A!

Letter B!

Letter C!  

Letter D! …. Oh wait that’s today…. Check it out!

Today we are learning about d’Orsay style shoes! I have seen these all over, and have heard the word d’Orsay, but have I ever used it in a sentence? Not once.  Let’s take a quick peek at a shoe that is not only everywhere, but it is also historical! Who knew?

If I were your best gal pal describing my new d’Orsay shoes on the phone, I would say something like this:

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“Yah, they’re like a kind of shoes that have, like, a cut out sort of on the middle sides so, like, you can see the arch of your foot, ya know? Like the toes and heels are still covered. Yah, and they’re like so in right now.”

If I were writing about them for fashion research project I might say this:

D’Orsay  (pronounced door-say) is a style of shoe designed originally for men in the 1800’s by Count Alfred d’Orsay, who wanted a better fitting military shoe that would accommodate wider feet.  Women loved the pointed toe, and incorporated it into ladies’ fashion shortly thereafter. The characteristics that make the d’Orsay shoe unique, are the point in the toe and the exposed arch, which comes from an absence of structured fabric between the heel and the toe box. In recent years, d’Orsay style shoes are experiencing a comeback to store shelves and sidewalks. They follow the “cut-out” trend and also offer versatility in that the exposed arch can be incorporated at any level of formality in both flats and heels.

If I had all the monies for all the shoes so I could buy them and show them to you,  here are pictures of ones I would buy:

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(Those Pierre hardy ones have blue mink fur around the top… wait, what!?? So drool.)

STOP!  Put the credit card down. Here are three more that won’t break the bank:

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My faves are the Ava & Aiden out of this bunch. These are perfect staples because they are sassy and yet still muted enough to wear with a lot of things. 

D’Or I say we have learned something today??

Ba dum chhhhhh!

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Cheers! Because d’Orsay shoes would look really terrible on men!

Happy Monday!

XO

PREPARING TO BLOW YER MIND…with baby steps

Hello you beautiful people!

After nearly 100 posts of experimental blogs and features, the time has come to narrow down the pack. Dorky Chick in Lipstick is finally going to be on a regular schedule! The random whimsy was great for a beginning project, but I am only a few short posts away from TRIPLE DIGITS on posts. This means there will obviously be a massively massive celebratory 100th post, but before I hit the big leagues, it is time to spruce up. So check it out! These are the features that made the cut!

Monday: Blearning Blogs! That’s right. These are coming back. Each Monday I will post about something in the fashion industry I just don’t know much about and we can learn together. Together we will just be better at life. How bout that?

Tuesday: TRENNNDAYYYYYY! Oh obvi Tues is getting hella trendacious. On Trreennnnndayyy Tuesday be ready for pics of things I’m willing to leave the house in, pics of stuff I would buy if I were swimming in bennies, and tidbits from around the internet I’m loving!

Wednesday: Dorky Chick Diaries! My chance to get real, Dorky Chick Diaries is exactly that– a diary entry. I’ll tell you what is on my mind. You no likey? You no clicky. Capish?

Thursday: Throwback Thursday! I’m so original. There are almost a hundred blog posts in my arsenal, and what better way than to promote sustainability than with resurrecting a post you missed!

Friday: Fearless Friday! What better way to celebrate past adventures and embrace future adventures than a whole day dedicated to getting out of the comfort zone! I love that classic quote “Do something every day that scares you” … Why not give it a shot myself?? This might mean jumping in to a design project, making art and putting my work up for judgment, making moves on the job front, or eating cockroaches Fear Factor style!!! Whoa, kidding. Not that. 

Weekend: VLOGoManiA! Just when you thought I’d forgotten about the videos! My dear friends they are here to stay, and now I just have to figure out what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks I am going to talk about. Expect nothing, so I can impress you with sound effects.

BONUS** Once a month, I will be featuring a Dorky Chick as a “READER FEATURE“! I did this wayyy back when with my dear friend and fashionista, Laura, and would love to spotlight more incredible people that are out there walking around the world in heels! (Or whatever other tasteful shoes you choose ;))

Things to note:

I will not be posting on holidays. That is wrong, and I know you don’t love me that much.

If exciting things come up, I will post about those.

Don’t worry, I doubt any post will be as long as my NYC post. You should read that though, because it took an eternity. Scroll down, I say!

I would love some feedback. What’s working for you on Dorky Chick? Did I skip one of your favorite past features in the lineup?

Some jokes may get reused, and there will be grammatical errors. I feel like if I say it I’ve covered my tracks for the future….maybe?

Cheers! To taking our relationship to the next level 😉

XOXO

C

Zombie Apocalypse: Now Accepting Applications!

As I slowly chip away at my roster of design classes, I’ve had some great opportunities to broaden my horizons, expand the scope of my skills, and most importantly, increase my chance of survival in the zombie apocalypse

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^^Portland zombie

It is no secret that I was the last child to complete the timed mile run in elementary school, and never got much faster…nor am I notably coordinated and have been known to mistake my finger for a block of cheese….So if I can’t hunt and gather or be a warrior, what’s left?

Translator? Nein, ich spreche nur ein bissen Deutch…plus the Germans have been learning English for decades so that’s out…

Medical expert? Oh! Maybe?  Let me look on WebMD and see….

Prostitute?   Does this look mean anything to you?

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You cray! *snap snap snap*

I was starting to face the music;  fated to meet my doom as a zombie cupcake with cherry frosting… until now!

My love of needles+thread has led me to a class where I am learning the age-old art of  LeatherworkingOkay so ideally I’d like to be able to throw together some crafty bags or shoes like any girly girl, but as I beveled, skived, and saddle-stitched from the comfort of my desk during a couple-week intensive course at my design school, I realized not all hope was lost for me! Do you think your shoes are going cobble themselves?  Ever tried bringing back enough berries to feed a team using only your two hands? Where are you going to turn when you need a new scabbard?

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Exactly.

Things are off to a solid start- just check out the belt I made this week!!

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If you look at the top left corner of the first photo, you can see the strap of vegetable-tanned leather it transformed from!

 

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Here are just some of the tools used.  An all-purpose leatherworking knife and corkboard (those things are sharp!) , a box cutter and cutting board, beeswax and canvas, and lots of paper towels! We beveled, skived, oil-treated, dyed, smoothed, molded, soaked, hammered, sanded, burnished and punched holes– all in just a few short days! I have to let my belt set for 24 hr before I can buff it, but then it will be ready to wear!  bedazzle!!!!!

(You can exhale, I was kidding)

This weekend I have to go pick up my first pigskin for a tote bag as next week’s project.  The idea of going out to buy skin is still sort of strange, but- hey, I can’t deny that it is a really important part of learning about the industry and basics of construction. And of course, vital to my survival of the pending mass resurrection of conscious-less corpses.

With that, I will be taking applications for my survival team. I still need someone fast, someone who can use a knife without slicing their finger, a translator (pig latin counts, but I’ll need references), Dr. Oz, and a hooker.

Please e-mail applications to dorkychickinlipstick@gmail.com

Deadline pending, we need to find the right people for the team.

More on leatherworking next week 🙂

xo

Pictures of my trrrrrrenday outfits 5.13 + 5.14

Unfortunately with this being a “fashion week” and all, I can’t leave the house in my family guy boxers and fuzzy purple slippers.

bummer.

I’ve had to instead wear less-classy options for frolicking amongst the fashion-fabulous of Portland.

I had a lot of laundry this week… but here’s what I came up with…

Night one: I didn’t know what I was getting into, and decided I wanted to fly solo, so I chose a predominantly black motif with a sleek hairdo. Recognize those H&M pants? They are from my mystery shopping blog and also from my promo shoot with Levy Moroshan! See? Nothing wrong with getting some bang for your buck!

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Oh, did you come alone? So did I…… *wink wink*Image

Uh-er-uh-lemme just—uhm– yeah…Image

Got it–uh-yah just one sec—umImage

Nothing creepy about that face…….Image

Crouching Caroline hidden friends…..Image

Just me looking ravishing and stylish and ready for a night of amaaaazingness … and also like I’ve been watching you sleep…

Night two! The weather was crazy crazertons today, but warmed up by the time to roll out.  I opted for my Target super-find that you might remember from the blog where I destroyed my finger, and I paired it with snakeskin BCBG black pants (my faves) and nude DV wedges. Image

See? Allll bedduh!Image

Who let the huge snake into my house?!?!?! Image

Jaykayyy it’s just my leg in fierce fabric! You should be more scared of my weird smile-growl pose. Why do I make decisions to take pictures like that?  Image

Hey everyone look at my fancy tricks^^ followed by a series of pictures that sort of show you my outfit:Image

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If I don’t wear something with color on it tomorrow then I’ve become a total hypocrite fashionista.

They’ll probably blacklist me.

Or black and white list me….

Ba-dum-chhhhhhhh

Once you get done laughing at that hilarious joke, I hope you have a great night. I’ll report back on tonight’s awesome show at Produce Row in the morning.

xo !

Men’s Fashion Week 2013: dudes in skirts, dudes with no hands, and dudes that may not be dudes

It’s men’s fashion week in Europe! That means a bunch of dudes are dressing up in designer duds to woo the affections of the fashion world for the Fall of 2013. London, Milan, and Paris. As expected, suits were aplenty. Some stayed classic, of course, but some also ventured into the realm of the unknown. I saw a lot of cheetah print… very “grrr” Austin would be proud…

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Here is a quick look at some highlights:

Burberry- the same thing we expect every year with cheetah print shoesImage

J.W. Anderson- I will pay $20 to any of my guy friends to wear this out and use pick up lines on girlsImageSaint Laurent- the edgy cool thing is cool but men also like hamburgers- give him oneImage

Rick Owens- imagine him ordering a frappucino…. Image

Louis Vuitton- okay, had to sneak in a good suit… teeheeImageThom Browne magician maybe? I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a rabbit in that hat….Image

Comme de Garcons : what guy doesn’t want to look like a girl at Disneyland? Image

Versace- hands: who really needs them? 

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I barely skimmed the surface, but that’s an idea of  just how..er… creative things can get. I definitely suggest heading over to http://www.nytimes.com and looking at the photo galleries.

What I want to know is who wears these things?  Dandies, I suppose (and my goodness are they fabulous) But what about a cheeseburger-eating-football-watching-whiskey-drinking-pickupline-using-late-twenties dude out and about in this:

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Attention readers: if you can find someone that meets above criteria out in a public place wearing a fashion-week-worthy outfit, please take a picture and send it to me. If it’s awesome, I’ll send you $5  which is good for a sizable latte or a dive-bar well drink, and we will cheers.

One thing is for certain though, it may be sunny in Portland, but over in at Fashion Week in Europe ……

😉 xo

Met-matics: Beyonce + Miley =

You want a “best/worst” dressed list? They got plenty of blogs for that. Best/worst lists are fun, but seriously- who cares? All of those outfits took some serious TLC to create, are made of luxury fabrics, and showcased the personality of the wearer (which is the most important).  So much of an outfit presentation is experienced through first-person eyes. The camera adds 10 lbs, different fabrics catch light different ways, and head-turning only happens when you aren’t looking dead-on at a screen. I positively loved  some of the looks at the Met Gala last night, but I also thought some stylists got an extra shot of espresso on the day they went shopping…. Let’s take a look at a couple of my favorite looks, and how they “add up” on my terms….

 

 

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and this

 

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These women all look amazing in their own right…..

 

they also just happen to look amazingly like other things that make me laugh 😉

 

xo